Manufacturing Matters

How have advances in edge computing and artificial intelligence helped democratize hyperspectral imaging? In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, Headwall’s Mark Willingham and Christian Felsheim join TECH B2B Marketing’s Winn Hardin and Jimmy Carroll to answer this question and share how the increased performance and decreased cost of hyperspectral imaging has opened the doors to myriad applications, from manufacturing to enviro...

The manufacturing industry has had an image problem for a while. We’re all familiar with the three Ds of manufacturing — dull, dirty, dangerous — and we know that this perception has steered many potentially skilled employees toward college-based careers. The problem is, the three Ds haven’t defined manufacturing for many years. So how do we change this perception to build a pipeline of talent? Terry Iverson, founder of Champion NO...

After the COVID-19 pandemic, many manufacturers have talked about reshoring. But is it worth it? In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Winn Hardin sits down with Dave Spaulding, president and CEO of Smart Vision Lights, to learn about the machine vision lighting manufacturer’s successful shift to in-house production of circuit boards, LED boards, and enclosures. Spaulding shares how this switch has enabled ...

Labeling a technology as “smart” — like a smart phone, smart watch, or smart toaster — indicates that it can perceive things about its environment, communicate them, and possibly even adapt performance accordingly. Motion control technology has become more accurate and precise over the years. Now it too is becoming smart. Iris Dynamics co-founder and CEO Patrick McFadden joins the latest episode of the Manufacturing Matters podcast...

Less than 10 years ago, artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning were being billed as game changing technologies in the industrial automation space. While perhaps overhyped at the time, today these technologies are bringing real value to manufacturing processes. To explore the practical application of AI in manufacturing, Musashi AI’s Frederick Reinink joins TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll and Winn Hardin on the Manufactur...

Collaborative robots, autonomous mobile robots, humanoid robots, and AI were technologies that stood out at Automate 2024 in terms of the number of demonstrations and presentations on the topic at this year’s show. For NEURA Robotics, who made waves at the event with its cognitive robots, this is the company’s wheelhouse.  TECH B2B Marketing’s Winn Hardin and Jimmy Carroll had the opportunity to speak with the company’s founder and...

In this episode, TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll and John Lewis sit down with Alexandre Fong of TechnoTeam Vision to discuss imaging photometers and colorimeters. The highly specialized technology is designed and calibrated to accurately measure brightness or luminescence and color, allowing manufacturers to precisely measure whether requirements are met in lighting applications. They discuss use cases including augmented and vi...

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll and Winn Hardin are joined by Matt Wicks, Vice President and General Manager of Robotics Automation at Zebra, to discuss some of the advancements that are helping drive growth in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). They’ll discuss the impact the labor market is having on the need for these technologies in warehouses across the country, and how Zebra is helpin...

Laser triangulation is a great 3D scanning technique for high-speed applications. But what happens when the CMOS chip in your 3D sensor can’t keep pace? In this episode of the Manufacturing Matters podcast, Gretchen Alper of Automation Technology (AT) GmbH joins TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll and Amanda Del Buono to discuss how this challenge led to the development of a CMOS chip with on-sensor intelligence. The technology now ...

Last week’s Automate 2024 event hosted its first ever Women’s Empower Hour, which highlighted the growing number of women working in the automation space. In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Amanda Del Buono and Morgan Chang, US Business Development Manager at LexxPluss, continue this essential workforce development conversation. They discuss navigating the automation industry as a female and touch on som...

For applications where imaging needs to go beyond the visible spectrum, hyperspectral imaging offers a power means for capturing and analyzing data from a large number of narrow, contiguous bands across the electromagnetic spectrum. On this episode of Manufacturing Matters, Jeff Oleske, Business Area Manager at Specim, joins Jimmy Carroll and John Lewis to discuss how this technology that used to be confined to lab environments is ...

Employee training programs have been proven to improve performance, lower turnover, and increase engagement. In this episode, GD&T Basics - Engineer Essentials LLC Founder and Lead Course Developer Tom Geiss joins TECH B2B Marketing’s Winn Hardin and John Lewis to dive further into the benefits that employee training offers manufacturing and automation organizations of all types. They also discuss where, how, and why simplifyin...

Many jobs within the manufacturing industry today fall under the “three D’s”- dull, dirty, and dangerous. Within manufacturing, companies have struggled to attract and retain workers for more than a decade, with COVID-19 and the Great Resignation further complicating the issue. In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing’s Winn Hardin is joined by Gary Miller, owner of Miller Resource Group, to talk about the manuf...

As industrial cameras evolve and gain processing power, more complex applications are possible. Doug Erlemann, business development manager of cameras at Baumer, joined TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll and John Lewis to share how advancements in camera technology, when combined with artificial intelligence–enabled software, leads to more efficient and accurate quality control, especially for facilities processing naturally derive...

A solid safety program requires many factors to align, such as people, practices, and infrastructure. Complicating matters is that manufacturing environments must increasingly call for quick changeovers to accommodate the growing number of SKUs produced. In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, TECH B2B Marketing's Daniel McCarthy and Amanda Del Buono join Matthew Clark, industry manager of intralogistics and packaging at EUC...

As consumers demand more sustainability from the products they buy, the domino effect is driving that demand throughout the supply chain, resulting in suppliers expecting sustainable practices out of their suppliers. On this episode of Manufacturing Matters Sustainable Photonics Partner Noel Moore joins TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll and John Lewis to discuss how the photonics industry is managing the sustainability demand and ...

What does reshoring mean to you? Depending on where you’re standing, whether its Asia, North America, or in developing countries in Western Europe, reshoring means different things to different people. On this episode of Manufacturing Matters, Sven Dharmani, global advanced manufacturing and mobility supply chain leader at @Ernst & Young EY joins TECH B2B Marketing’s Winn Hardin and Jimmy Carroll to talk about how complex model...

Theodor Nielsen, CEO of NIL Technology ApS, joins this episode of Manufacturing Matters from SPIE’s Photonics West 2024 to discuss the latest trends and advancements in nanoimprint lithography, notably metalenses, which are compact, module flat lenses designed to be used in markets including robotics and automotive, among many others. Nielsen explains to TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll and John Lewis how metalenses can be used i...

In this episode of Manufacturing Matters, Flex-Line Automation President Cathy Rinne and Sales and Marketing Manager Lauren Van De Mark join TECH B2B Marketing’s Jimmy Carroll and Amanda Del Buono for a discussion from A3’s 2024 Business Forum. Cathy and Lauren share the conveyor system integrator’s 40-year history and how it has adapted to keep up with evolving customer demands, including conveyor integration with robotics and oth...